I'm gonna start playing bass in a little band.
I NEVER played bass, EVER.
When I was jamming with the rest of the band I felt kind of "alone".
We are going to do some gigs, am I gonna feel like this ALL the time?

Welcome to the Forum! Think of it this way. A rock and roll band without a bass player is not. Jimi disliked Noel because the female groupies always talked to him first (I have always had that problem and it has caused rifts in many a band over the years), but Jimi still played the bass parts on the recordings after he would chase Noel out of the studio. Buddy Holly had the Crickets, his rhythm section. got it? This could go on for pages. Bask in the glow of those lights because ultimately it is you and the drummer that keep the music on time. you are not alone.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I guess if you really feel alone than you may want to evaluate staying on bass or moving to guitar if possible.

On bass you shouldn't feel "alone", if you're doing your job than you and the drummer are tuned in to each other and there's a "groove" that the audience can hear and feel. That groove is what gets their hands clapping, their feet stamping, their rear ends out on the dance floor.

The funny part about bass is the people in the crowd will ask what part you're actually playing, they see the guitarist doing leads and the drummer is obvious enough, but they don't know what you're doing. This was particularly noticeable for me when we were a 6 pc band with keys in it. My part was diminished in the mix because the keys played bass and the rythm player was in there. Now we are 4 pc, bass/drums/guitar/vocalist and it's much more obvious to people what my part is the band.


They might not know exactly what you're doing, but if you're doing it right and you stop they'll surely notice that!

Good luck, have fun with it. Around here bassists are in short supply. If I wanted to play more I'd have no problem getting gigs.

Just shut up, stand in the back, and hold down the bottom end. THAT IS YOUR JOB!

Just kidding. Without your bass, the band will sound thin and the music is nowhere near as interesting without a good bassline behind it. Don't feel alone, make the bass an integral part of the sound.

Play Lead Bass!

Rock on Bro

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

One great thing about being a bass player is that you don't have to prove yourself to everyone every time you pick up the instrument. With a bass, you are expected to do the job with anything and everything thrown your way. If you can handle it, that's that. No one is going to make any serious comparisons about you vs. other bass players either.

Keep your accents with the bass drum and remember, oftentimes, the mark of MANY a good bass player is for the rest of the band to never fully appreciate his or her contribution until (s)he stops. And then, there's a gaping hole in the tune which has just fallen apart.

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You dig?

I play both and have been both... sometimes in the same band. I used to stay close to the drummer because that is the other part of your job. To hold down the bottom and sync with the drummer. That's how you stay in the pocket. I'd like to join a band again. I really miss it. I retired to raise my kids. Now that I know they're okay I can finally get back to it.

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"...The final truth is, there is no truth..." - (from "Nice n' Neat" by the Boomtown Rats)